[darkside8]

Those of you who have read my most recent posts will know my struggle with expressing my emotions and getting too vulnerable with another person. Well, today I managed to get as close as possible – I still unfortunately struggled to use emotive vocabulary, however, was able to create a fairly clear image of what’s been going on for me, particularly late nights. My low mood/anxiety appears to be a clear barrier to making small steps for progress. T said she feels stuck, and I whispered, “I know,” as I felt my heart slightly skip because of the thought she’ll have to give up on the disaster I am. She didn’t of course. She asked when I last saw my doctor and whether medication, such as anti-anxiety meds, is something I am willing to consider because right now it seems my mood needs a little lifting so that I can begin to set and meet small goals. She and I know every time things get too deep, I freeze with silence and can’t bring the words I’m feeling inside out in the open. She eventually has to list emotions and I nod, or totally ignore. (Maybe when I’m not feeling as low in session one day, I’ll share how sad, hurt, lonely etc I feel at night whilst I make a joke of it as comfort lol)

I’ve done research on medication before and it is indeed a complex topic. Many say medication and therapy work really well.

Anyone had T suggest this? Went for it or not? And why? How will it help?

[Waterloo12345]

At my lowest - non functional, not working, bed all day, would sui if I but had the energy to think and do and not just exist in a grey fog of being - my doc suggested ADs. I started and was lucky that they (appeared to?) work.

It enable me to do those v v v small things that start an upward spiral. Bloody slow and 2 steps backwards for every 1/2 forward.

He also gave me a very limited about of benzos for 'big' things and it helped just having them.

So for me yes, they provided the push I needed. Also who can think in therapy and do the work if one is like that? It needs to be lifted.

My T was supportive of it though she was a bit concerned over my use of the benzoes - which was not as prescribed.

[ChickenNoodleSoup]

My T is a psychiatrist. He suggested I start an SSRI for anxiety when he started to realize that I couldn't properly calm down anymore and was constantly scared of the world. I'm on a relatively low dose. It helps me a great deal, I'm not that anxious usually, don't have any side effects. It especially helps me because I can focus on getting better more since we don't have to just focus on calming me down.

[SlumberKitty]

I was started on anti-depressants by my GP. Then she sent me to a psychiatrist who put me on different anti-depressants, anti-anxiety medication, and anti-psychotic medication. Then I did therapy. Until I got to the right doses and right medications though I was only making nominal progress in therapy. Being on the right doses and the right medications gave me the boost I needed to start making real progress. That was my experience anyway. HUGS Kit

[ArtleyWilkins]

Medication was pretty much a must for me. My depression was severe and serious at times, and when depressed, my ability to communicate and actually do anything productive in therapy was almost nil. Therapy became more about just coming and being monitored in crisis rather than really being therapy. On medication, we were able to get my depression level down enough that my brain would function again and I could actually participate in my own therapy.

Yes and I wish I had listened sooner. I dug my heels in and refused until suddenly I found myself in a situation where I had no choice. What they say about the brain chemical imbalances is real and it only progressed for me.

[GeekyOne]

Medication is a regular topic in my therapy. My psychiatrist referred me to my T, they work in the same clinic, and they sometimes talk about me with each other. I was on meds when I started with my T several years ago, and my cocktail is regularly changing. We talk about pros, cons, side effects, and when I should take "as needed" meds. T helps me see the bigger picture of how I'm doing, process my feelings about the meds, and figure out what to say to my pdoc.

[CharlieStarDust]

For years she tried to get me to even consider meds. When I hit a really low point (barely functional), I tried a couple different meds - none worked and I didn't have a family dr. or a pdoc, so I gave up. I finally have a fam dr. who's helping me find a pdoc - and hopefully this next round will go better.

[guilloche]

Yup, this comes up regularly with most of the Ts that I've seen. My current one has had a couple of outbursts (the best way I can describe it!) of very vehemently telling me that I need to be on medication.

I think it's a hugely personal decision. You have to be at a point where you feel like you will benefit and are willing to give them a try.

For me, I'm not at that point. I'm trying some other things. But, part of that is that I don't feel like my T really sees me accurately to give advice about things like medication, if that makes sense. So, basically, I don't really trust her judgment about this.

But, if you feel like they can make a difference, if you're stuck and suffering, and if you trust your T and can find someone good that she recommends and works well with, then I think you should go for it!

Maybe be sure to talk to your T, and your doctor, about what side effects to expect, how you'll determine if it's not working (i.e. when you'll stop trying one and try someone thing else), how you'll know when you should come off of it and how that would be handled. (Those are the things I'd want to know, I think.)

Good luck with it, and I hope that if you end up trying meds, you find something quickly that works really well for you!

[piggy momma]

My last T wanted me on meds and even told my doctor which meds to put me on.

My current T took me off meds. I've been off them for nine months now.

[Ididitmyway]

It's not unusual for Ts to suggest medications.

I, personally, am not a fan of drugs unless they are really necessary, which, sometimes, they are. But, I think, they are appropriate only when someone's mental state and behaviors seriously interfere with their daily functioning. If it doesn't get to that point, simple life style changes is a much better solution imo. Eating quality foods, yoga, meditation, walks in the park or anywhere outdoors, reducing time you spend online and with gadgets of all kinds and many other things are simple ways to reduce anxiety. Alternative healing method could help too. In the past, acupuncture helped me with anxiety.

Generally speaking, it's always a good idea to see a regular GP and to get a check up just to make sure that everything is ok on the physical level. Mental and physical health are very connected. A small thing like a deficiency of some important vitamin or nutrient or hormonal imbalance could immediately affect the way you feel and your mental state.

[WishfulThinker66]

Medication is a fact of my life and will be for the course of my life. That is not a bad thing. I have lived unmedicated and never want to go back to that.

[Anne2.0]

I'm not sure my T suggested medication (it was in my first round of therapy, more than 15 years ago) or whether I brought it up, but she recommended a very good psychiatrist who listened to my concerns about side effects and long term use and suggested a newish anti depressant where I started out with a super low dosage and increased gradually. I took it for about 9 months and then stopped gradually again. I had no side effects or other issues and it really did help my therapy in the sense that it seemed easier to get into the emotional dirt of it and easier to contain it within therapy too.

I'm not a big fan of medication or the medical model in general, but I have given standard advice to my friends of if there is medication that can help, why suffer?

Personally, I'd give CBD oil a try for anxiety before any commercial medication, or l-theanine, but I'm big on herbal remedies, acupuncture, etc, or as some people refer to it, into the woo-woo.